MyCarnivalBands is a new Web site that not only allows Carnival bands to sell their services and costumes online, but is also a technological platform to develop e-commerce within the Carnival industry, says its CEO Ang�l Stewart.
He added that those involved in the Carnival industry must look beyond viewing Carnival as a two-day event but more as a sustainable industry.
"This Web site is a digital platform which provides e-commerce services to customers around the world who are involved in purchasing Carnival costumes, J'Ouvert packages, all the different items that are related to the Carnival industry internationally. You can access the Web site from anywhere in the world and on any device. We support T&T bands as well bands in other countries such as Jamaica, Miami and the Bahamas," he told the Guardian on Monday.
Stewart said customers can go online and pick the band of its choice and after purchase the costume and other products they need.
"If you want to buy a costume for Miami Carnival, a customer can go on the Web site, and then see the different bands that are part of Miami Carnival. In that way you will have access to all the bands' costumes, sections, you would be able to pick your backline, frontline and head piece. All the different parts of e-commerce that are specific to this Carnival niche. Also, you pay via credit card. We also provide support for full online payment," he said.
He explained how the Web site makes money.
"We have tried different pricing schemes and different ways to monetise the site. Right now we are charging a processing fee which is placed on top of the price of the costume. That would be around six per cent. So a customer buys a costume from a band off the site and we take the six per cent off the price of that costume.
"What we found is that some bands want the flexibility of splitting those costs. So what they want to do is they pass half the cost onto the customer and then they absorb half the cost. We are very motivated for the bands to be successful because if they do not sell we do not make money. We operate on volume. The more we sell is the more we make."
He also said they want to help the cottage industries like make-up artists and hairstylists and encourage entrepreneurship via the Web site.
"For the hairstylists, their margins are not high and many of them do this only around Carnival time. There is a great need for it in the market. We are going to give them a top-class platform on which to offer their services and schedule their appointments as well as accept payments via credit card or physical payments. So a make-up artist does not have to wonder how he or she will reach the market. Through our platform we will enable them to partner with us. There will be networking for the Carnival industry."
Stewart spoke to the Business Guardian on Monday at No 61 Luis Street, Woodbrook.
He said there are 23 bands on the Web site at the moment.
"We have seen thousands of units pass through the system like costumes, J'Ouvert packages, tickets. As far as we are positioned as a start up, we are very strong."
Technology and Carnival
Stewart explained how he got the idea to develop the platform.
"I am also the owner of SugarIslands.com which is a Web development company that has been around for 15 years. We worked with Tribe to develop its Web site and the technology back end which powers the band. We came out with that in 2005 and Tribe uses that service up to today. That was where we got our experience with knowing what works in the industry and for what is now the largest band of its type around."
Stewart argues that the Carnival industry has been "under served" by technology.
"A lot of the bands were not maximising their profits by early making efficient use of the new technology tools that were available on the market and I thought that was an area where can assist the brands and add value."
In November 2013 he did a test launch of a demo page of the Web site to test the interest of the market.
"The response was great, we did a Facebook page and promotion and saw a lot of interest. We spoke to a lot of bands as well and the interest was great."
He spoke about the "long hard road" of raising the money to get the project off the ground.
"That process took a while and I ended up financing it on my own with investments from some friends and family. I would say it cost a few hundred thousand TT dollars to get started. The development time frame was about four to five months for the prototype. The top US providers that we used make about US$90,000 annually. So it gives an idea of how much we spent on their services."
The first band to use their service was Tribe in November 2013.
"This was around when Tribe had its tenth anniversary and we launched to the public using Tribe's costumes. The costumes were available on our Web site and we had Legacy, Yuma, we even had a more traditional band like Just Friends, who very much hold to the traditional ideas. We then branched off into J'Ouvert very quickly. We realised the products worked and was wanted in the market."
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Other destinations
He said Carnival bands from Miami, Barbados, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Canada all utilise Web site.
"The reaction out there has been great. For the bands outside T&T the pick up has been great. The public has been very happy. We are a start-up company and resources are tight so what we have done is we tried to form partnerships in the market with people who have been around for years and one of them is Trini Jungle Juice. They are known for Carnival parties and pictures and all that is Carnival. They said it sounded like a fantastic idea. They were impressed by our soft launch. They saw it not only as a store front but as a platform that could do much more."
Trini Jungle Juice went out to their international contacts in the industry and introduced MyCarnivalBands as a platform that other bands could use.
"The first bands in Miami came on board. Mascot International did their ordering system through us and it worked perfectly. Through the Trini Jungle Juice promotion engine is how we leapfrogged through all the different islands."
Stewart also spoke about new services that will be launched over the next couple weeks as part of that collaboration.
"We will be providing e-ticketing that will not only serve the party market but also serve conferences and events and tie everything back to the bands are with us. Most of them have promotions and launches. We want them to have one inventory base and one customer base."
He boasts that this Web site is the first of its kind in the Carnival industry.
"There is no one else who offers this compete service."
He said for this Carnival season, sales on the Web site has been good but added that this season has been an "awkward" one.
"There are several issues internationally. It has been a tough one for many Carnival bands. Because of the international issue with Ebola. There was the issue around October on whether Carnival would be on or not. That threw people's plan off on whether they would travel or book a hotel or buy a Carnival costume. But we are passed that and we have seen a pick up in the industry."